Blueberry season has started! Here in Maryville we have an excellent organic blueberry farm called Falls Farms. Their orchard is over 30 years old and has never been sprayed with pesticides. They encourage you to “eat as you go!” and are proud that they are chemical-free.

The best time to pick blueberries locally is usually in July and August, and I’ve heard reports that the berries are delicious now!
You can find Falls Farms at 111 Harmon Road, Maryville, TN 37804, across from the drive-in movies.

Maryville City will be presenting Movies in the Park again this year! This is always one of our favorite summer events. The movie schedule begins this Friday, June 23 with The Secret Life of Pets. The rest of the lineup is below. Most movies start at 8:45, but that may be updated, so check before you go! You can get all the info on Maryville City’s website here.

Start time depends on sunset due to screen illumination. Located at Theater in the Park (Jack Green Park) near the Blount County Courthouse. The park does not have a physical address – it is near 325 Court Circle, Maryville Tennessee. The park is open seating and visitors can come in anytime.

Here are the first two movies:

Secret Life of PetsRated PGJune 23, 2017 8:45 p.m.Two mismatched mutts get lost in NYC due to their feuding, and must find their way home. During their journey, they encounter a vicious bunny who plans to lead a group of abandoned pets on a mission of revenge against humanity.

SingRated PGJune 30, 2017 8:45 p.m.A koala impresario stages a gala singing competition in order to save his theater, and the contest attracts the attention of such musically inclined animals as a harried pig mom, a teenage gorilla, a shy elephant and a punk porcupine.

2017 Line Up

These free movies are shown at the Theater in the Park across from the courthouse. Get there early to reserve a good spot!

Here’s more info on this event, from the City’s website:

For all to enjoy the event:

Picnics, blankets and lawn chairs are welcome.

Wear insect repellent – mosquitoes don’t follow rules.

If you get chilly in the evenings, bring an extra blanket!

No concessions will be available, but feel free to bring your own coolers and picnic baskets.

Rules• No smoking – including e-cigarettes or tobacco products
• No alcohol
• No glass containers
• No pop-up tents or other structures
• Please turn off cell phones
• No illuminated devices during the movie except
​ in the device zone (the pavilion)

Weather Delays/ Cancellations
Weather related delays or cancellations will be communicated through the following outlets:

Fairview United Methodist Church is having its annual Children’s Consignment Event on Saturday, June 24, and you’ll definitely want to make plans to be there. The sale starts at 8 a.m. and closes at noon for an hour. At 1 p.m. they reopen and everything without a red dot is on sale for half price. Sale items include clothing for all seasons for newborn to children’s size 16; all things for baby–furniture, strollers, pack-n-plays, etc., costumes, sports equipment, toys, puzzles, books, DVDs and gaming systems.

I am excited to be able to give away two passes for you and a friend to shop early on Friday, June 23 at 7:00 p.m. There will be two winners! If you’re not a winner, you can purchase presale passes at the door on Friday for $10 each, with all proceeds going to charity. Of course, if you choose to consign you’ll shop early as well! Registration is online this year, and you can sign up here.

Have you seen the new Tiger Forest exhibit at Zoo Knoxville? If not, you may want to take advantage of this deal: the zoo is offering free admission for all dads on Father’s Day, June 18! We recently visited the zoo and thought the new additions were just beautiful. My kids loved seeing the tigers, and we all thought the architecture was very elegant.

Here’s the official info on this deal:

All dads get free zoo admission on Sunday, June 18, 2017.
Guests can explore the all new Tiger Forest and take a break to cool off with some water play at the Clayton Safari Splash, which is now open for the season.
Free admission for fathers is valid on Sunday, June 18, 2017, only and cannot be combined with any other discount or offer.More info on the Zoo’s Facebook page here.

The Blount County Library’s book sale is one of my family’s favorite places to shop for used books! This summer’s sale will be June 9-10, with a special early shopping day on June 8 for Friends of the Library members. If you’re not a member – and I highly recommend becoming one – you can join at the door. Here’s more info.

I recently had the chance to watch the documentary Is Genesis History?, available from Compass Cinema. This movie was released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 27, 2017.

About this documentary (from the creators):

Is Genesis History? is a comprehensive documentary featuring over a dozen scientists and scholars looking at the world and explaining how it intersects with the history recorded in Genesis. From rock layers to fossils to lions to stars, this fascinating film will challenge and change the way you see the world. Is Genesis History? shines new light on our origins, providing a positive argument for Biblical Creation and the Flood. Dr. Del Tackett, creator of The Truth Project, serves as your guide—hiking through canyons, climbing up mountains, and diving below the sea—in an exploration of two competing views … one compelling truth.

Contents:

Feature Documentary – 101 min

Bonus Features:

Q&A with Del Tackett & Scientists – 13min

The Ice Age & Climate Change: Larry Vardiman, PhD – 15min

Engineering the Universe: Stuart Burgess, PhD – 18min

The Church and Creation – Douglas Kelly, PhD – 12min

Meet the Scientists, Del Tackett, Production Company – 15min

Language: English with subtitles available in both Spanish and English

My Verdict:

I watched this documentary with my husband, who is a minister and who is teaching a class on creation science next year, as well as my daughters, ages 7 & 9. My husband’s impression was that it does a good job in rightly pacing the focus on presuppositions, so getting across the point that it’s not necessarily the data the points towards evolution or old earth frameworks, but the presuppositions one comes to the evidence with. So, for example, an evolutionist would look at the Grand Canyon and assume it was formed by a little bit of water over a long period of time, instead of a catastrophic amount of water over a short amount of time. The evidence seems to point to the latter, but if you are committed to an old earth paradigm, then you must interpret the data in a way that aligns with that view. My husband mentioned the documentary does a good job of hitting the high points of many of the creationist books of the last 20 years, like “The Case for a Creator”, by Lee Strobel, “Darwin on Trial”, by Phillip Johnson, “Total Truth”, by Nancy Pearcy, “Darwin’s Black Box”, by Michael Behe, and “The Privileged Planet”, by Guillermo Gonzalez. Each of those books focuses on a specific field, and in “Is Genesis History?” Del Tackett brings together interviews from people from many various fields, like geology, astronomy, biology, zoology, archaeology, etc. From a practical standpoint, the video format makes this information a lot more accessible; few people have time to sit down and read book after book on creationism, but anyone can find time to watch this engaging documentary. Plus, it’s wonderful to see the gorgeous visuals of actual places that show evidence, instead of just reading about it. Also, the DVD is formatted in chapters, and that lends itself to classroom use, because you can watch a 7-10 minute vignette on a certain topic and have a great discussion without having to watch the entire content.

I think this documentary would be good for middle school-aged students and up. My 7 and 9-year-olds did not last through a single viewing of the entire movie, and had a lot of questions about word definitions, but when we tried it again in segments, it worked a lot better. The information presented led to some really interesting family conversations! We all enjoyed the DVD, and would recommend it highly!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this DVD free from the publisher for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”This site is a Compass Classroom affiliate, and purchases made through links (including linked covers) may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).